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Michelle Obama to visit Sikh shooting victims' families

The first lady is scheduled to meet with the families today. | AP Photo

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | 8/23/12 7:56 AM EDT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Sikh temple where a white supremacist killed six people earlier this month has been largely repaired. A crisp new American flag flies out front, prayer services have returned to a normal schedule and walls once scarred by gunfire are now covered with banners of support from around the world.

While the Sikh community in this Milwaukee suburb continues to mourn the dead, they have taken solace in one fact: The killing has drawn attention to their religion and given them a chance to share traditional Sikh messages of peace and justice with a global audience. A scheduled visit Thursday by first lady Michelle Obama offers one more opportunity to preach unity and compassion.

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"There's a prayer we say twice a day, asking God to please give peace to everybody and give progress to every person in this birth," said Inderjeet Singh Dhillon, one of the temple leaders. "We don't mention a person's name or color or religion. We just say one word for every human on Earth."

There are an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 Sikhs living in America. However, it's not uncommon for Sikhs to keep to themselves, leaving non-Sikhs to wonder from afar about Sikh customs — for example, why the men might have long beards and wear turbans.

Sikh leaders in the U.S. have tried to change that. They have encouraged people of all faiths to visit their temples and sit with them on the floor to partake of free meals. One of those leaders was Satwant Singh Kaleka, the president of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin and one of the six people killed Aug. 5.

Kaleka tried to fight off the gunman with a butter knife, buying time for others to hide in the temple. The gunman, white supremacist Wade Michael Page, later killed himself during an ensuing gun battle with police.

Kaleka's son, Amardeep Kaleka, said the gunman may have sought to divide the community, but his actions backfired.